Amazon, Walmart And Target Woo All Channel Consumers With Delivery, New Payment Options

It’s not enough to build a large store and expect shoppers to come. In the omnichannel age, even superstores such as Target have to introduce new shopping experiences.

As a result, Target has been rolling out delivery to its customers in several major markets after acquiring Shipt for $550 million in cash in Dec. 2017. At the time, the retailer said it would leverage its stores and Shipt’s proprietary technology platform and community of shoppers to bring same-day delivery to Target customers around the country.

“The team is moving remarkably quick,” John Mulligan, Target’s chief operations officer, said. “We’re going to be in all the major markets, and we bring a breadth of assortment that is not just food and beverage and grocery. We will have virtually the entire store by the end of the year, so that’s a fantastic advantage.”

But not all retailers are moving as fast as Target. In fact, retailers, overall, only saw a 37.9 average satisfaction score for omnichannel features, according to the PYMNTS Omni Usage Index. But some retailers lead the pack. Here’s how five have adapted to omnichannel commerce with digital offerings.

— Almost 10 percent — or 9.9 percent — of large format any channel consumers shop at Target. The discount retailer continues to roll out home delivery through grocery delivery from Shipt in Florida and the Twin Cities. Shipt will deliver groceries, electronics and a variety of products from approximately 50 Target stores in the Twin Cities area and will reach approximately 1.2 million households. The retailer sought to hire up to 4,000 shoppers and delivery workers as it prepared to debut the service. In Florida, Target launched the Shipt offering from its brick-and-mortar stores in Tampa and South Florida before expanding to 12 other markets in the state.

— Almost 10 percent — or 9.1 percent — of large format any channel consumers shop at Amazon. The eCommerce retailer is reportedly gearing up to open more cashless brick-and-mortar convenience stores, dubbed Amazon Go. Recode, citing multiple people familiar with Amazon’s plans, reported news that Amazon is planning to open as many as six new Amazon Go locations in 2018. Some are expected to be in Seattle — Amazon’s hometown and the location of its first Amazon Go. New stores are also expected in Los Angeles, where, Recode reported, Amazon was in talks with Rick Caruso, the billionaire real estate developer, about having an Amazon Go located at The Grove, a 600,000-square-foot outdoor shopping mall. In addition, Amazon also announced recently it will create a new shipping service located in L.A.

— Just under 9 percent — or 8.5 percent — of large format any channel consumers shop at Walmart. In an effort to better compete with Amazon in Asia and the U.S., Walmart is taking measures, such as entering into a partnership with the largest eCommerce retailer in Japan, Rakuten. The collaboration between Walmart and Rakuten will focus on online grocery delivery in addition to eBooks, industry news source Chain Store Age reported. Walmart’s Japanese unit, Seiyu GK, and Rakuten will run the grocery delivery service, which will be dubbed “Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper.” Taking the place of Walmart’s current online grocery offering in Japan, the service will launch in the second half of 2018. Beyond groceries, the partnership will allow Walmart to sell eBooks, audiobooks and eReaders from Rakuten Kobo in its brick-and-mortar stores as well as through its website in the U.S.

— Just under 7 percent — or 6.8 percent — of large format any channel consumers shop at Kohl’s. And the retailer may soon offer more concepts within the footprint of its stores. After shrinking the size of some of its brick-and-mortar locations, Kohl’s plans to lease out the newly vacant space in its “right-sized” stores, according to news from Reuters. Not all of the retailer’s roughly 300 downsized stores will lease unused footage — at least in the beginning, Kohl’s Chief Executive Kevin Mansell told CNBC. Mansell added that Kohl’s has already identified “a whole list of partners.” The company is even considering partnerships with competitors. “If we had our preference, we are going first after well-capitalized companies, and preferably ones that have high traffic in grocery and convenience,” Mansell said.

— And 6.5 percent of large format any channel consumers shop at Old Navy. Old Navy took an omnichannel strategy with its Olympic-themed merchandise, for example. The retailer offered a collection of Team USA knit mittens, winter hats and scarves through its Times Square location — not too far from the Team USA store — and through the retailer’s website, in addition to TeamUSAShop.com.

Overall, Target’s digital fulfillment efforts will allow the retailer to bring same-day delivery to about half of its stores by the early part of 2018. And, by the end of 2019, Target plans to offer same-day delivery for “all major product categories” — truly putting the “bullseye” on omnichannel commerce.